Kill Virginia Creeper ... Not Quite OrganicallyNot long ago NGA member WARYR1 posted a query in the Ask A Question Forum: "What is an organic way to get rid of Virginia Creeper?" The question received many excellent replies. To date, there are 23 replies. One suggestion involved pouring herbicide into a trash can and stuffing the vines into the can. The purpose of that method was to contain the herbicide and reduce the risk of damage to desirable plants.
Explanations of How Plants Respond to LightI couldn't figure out why one of my plants looked parched/dry/thirsty even though I had watered the day before. Research tells me this plant is exhibiting a "nyctinastic" response to approaching night. The plant knew when it was day and when it was night, folded its leaves, and appeared to be napping. Wow, a nyctinastic response is fantastic. Do plants sleep? Yes, and they do a whole lot more. There are several types of nastic responses in the plant world.
Horned Melon Part Two, or 'Everything But the Horns'Plant Sister is at it again, using almost every part of something as food. [center] She says, "I learned from my mother about many things: Do not throw away food or let it go to waste". Written by Plant Sister and greene
Let There Be LightGet inventive; re-purpose what you have on hand in a closet or in the shed, or hit the thrift stores and yard sales. Supplemental lighting doesn't have to be expensive or beautiful.
Blackberries and Berries That Are BlackIt's impossible to walk barefoot in the yard. The brambles are everywhere. Even wearing shoes does not protect ankles from getting scratched. Ouch!
Alstroemeria psittacina aka A. pulchellaAlstroemeria: beautiful or invasive and irritating?
African Horned MelonThis fruit has many names. It originated in Africa and has been called Horned Melon, Hedged Melon, Melano, and a few other names, the most amusing one being Jelly Melon and the most inexplicable one being English Tomato. The fruit made its way to New Zealand, where the name 'Kiwano' was added (patented name) because they had such good luck getting the world to eat Kiwi fruit and thought Kiwano would catch on more quickly than African Horned Melon.
Got Weeds? by greene and Plant SisterIf you have weeds, why not put them to work for you? Stir up a batch of FPE - Fermented Plant Extract - and your weeds magically become fertilizer and pesticide - and it's organic!
Prickly Seed Pods?Last year I removed seeds from some dry, prickly Leonotis seed pods - with my bare hands. Ouch! Having learned from my mistakes, when I was fortunate enough to gather more pods this year, I tried to remove the seeds while wearing gloves. Alas, I was not destined to be a brain surgeon and was all thumbs. I needed a better idea...
American Beautyberry JellyJelly can be made using Callicarpa Americana - American Beautyberry. It's all-American and easier than apple pie.
Macro Hack for Photographing Your BloomsUse a hand lens or jeweler's loupe to obtain extreme close-ups.
Improved Forsythe Pot IdeaA Forsythe Pot is a pot filled with potting medium, used for the propagation of cuttings. The Forsythe Pot needs to have water added and be checked for mosquito growth. I wanted something that could be ignored a little longer between waterings, eliminate the mosquito problem and, in my opinion, look just a bit nicer.
Glossary tip: PropaguleA propagule is a vegetative part of a plant, such as a bud, shoot, sucker, runner, cutting, seed, spore, etc., from which a new plant may develop.
